MLB playoff rotation tiers: Ranking every team's October starting pitching options — SkimNews
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- Los Angeles Dodgers top the rankings with Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow; the article notes they could start four arms in a seven-game series that are each better than any single arm on five or six rival teams, even with Shohei Ohtani likely done pitching for the season.
- Milwaukee Brewers rank second behind Jacob Misiorowski, who the article calls "the best pitcher in baseball this year" and the heavy National League Cy Young favorite, with Logan Henderson, Dustin May, Kyle Harrison and Robert Gasser following.
- New York Yankees' Cam Schlittler is described as second in pitcher WAR this season and the odds-on American League Cy Young pick, while 36-year-old Gerrit Cole "doesn't have the same extra gear" he once did.
- Philadelphia Phillies rank third on the strength of Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo and Zack Wheeler — all in the top 13 in baseball in xFIP among starters — giving the team three ace-level arms plus Aaron Nola and Andrew Painter.
- Boston Red Sox headline Tier 2 with four strong options (Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez, rookie Payton Tolle and Jake Bennett) but "no true ace-level pitchers at the moment," the article notes.
- Atlanta Braves' Chris Sale sits third in starting pitcher ERA overall, but the article flags his 6.35 career playoff ERA as a concern, with Tyler Mahle the second-best option behind him.
- Chicago Cubs land in the lowest tier with the rotation 27th in WAR and the bullpen 28th in WAR; the article cuts off mid-sentence describing their newly acquired arms including Kevin Gausman and Shota Imanaga.
- Texas Rangers' Jacob deGrom has stabilized his late-career decline with 59 starts over the past two years and a low-3.00s ERA while sitting 95–99 mph, making him the anchor of a rotation the article places in Tier 3 ahead of the Cubs, D-backs and Astros.
Why it matters: Postseason rotations often decide October: the Dodgers, Brewers, Phillies and Yankees each have multiple top-tier arms capable of fronting a seven-game series, while the Cubs' bottom-tier ranking (27th in rotation WAR) reflects how their pitching has undermined an otherwise competitive roster heading into a make-or-break stretch run.
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